Boehner: Republicans Keep Working Toward Job Creation

Republicans have made a great deal of headway toward solutions to create jobs and grow the nation's economy, House Speaker John Boehner said in Saturday's GOP address, but the dozens of bills the House has passed are stalled in the Democratic-run Senate.

The Ohio Republican, speaking from the Hartzell Propeller plant in Piqua, Ohio, said Republicans are "ready to improve job training programs so workers can acquire the right skills; expand production of American-made energy to lower costs; open new markets for small manufacturers; and repeal and replace Obamacare."

The speaker said the Hartzell plant maintains 75 percent of the world's market in propellers, but like any small business is facing an uncertain future.

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"What I heard here – and what I hear everywhere I go – is that we need to get the federal government out of the way," said Boehner. "I know why Americans are still asking the question 'where are the jobs?'"

The problem is, Boehner said, President Barack Obama's administration acts as if everything can be done from the top down.

"From the ‘stimulus’ to Obamacare, it’s a record littered with promises that never panned out," said Boehner. "And pain for people trying to get by and meet a payroll. Republicans, we’ve kept our pledge, we’ve offered a new way forward."

Boehner said Obama wanted this year to be one of bipartisan action, and it still can be.

"We just need to get his party’s leaders in the Senate to take up our jobs bills," said Boehner.

And while Republicans may be the minority party in Washington, there has been some headway made, he said.

"We've banned earmarks and, for the first time since the Korean War, we’ve cut total federal spending for two years running," Boehner said. "We’ve protected 99 percent of Americans from permanent tax increases. We’ve taken the politics out of student loans, making it easier to pay for college. And we’ve passed three free trade agreements that are already paying big dividends for our economy."

If the Obama administration and Democrats stopped "treating our economy like a second language and started putting jobs first," matters could change, Boehner said.

"Instead of slogging on and settling, we can take the path of freedom and prosperity," he said. "It leads to an America where we, the people – not the government – shape our destiny.
An America where honesty and initiative are cherished. An America of pride and purpose."
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